Saturday, April 24, 2010

Goodbye 33, Hello 34!

Here are the glorious spoils from the "Great Birthday Fabric Expedition"! Not a bad bunch of loot, eh?

I can't begin to express to you how exciting this all was to find! And I'm sure I don't have to, because I know all of you would feel the same way. It was seriously more than I could've hoped for.

On Thursday morning, Mark and I dropped Lucy and Norman off with their Grandma and drove off down the Interstate to Portland to celebrate my birthday. Thanks to the tips of three lovely ladies (thanks Sarah, Raven and Tiffany!!), we made stops at three small-town quilt shops along the way, and I must say it was a ridiculously great success!!

The first shop we hit had some of the elusive aqua colorway of Mendocino - underwater sisters and fish! I had to get the rest of the bolt of the aqua sisters! They even had some old Lightning Bug prints like dogs on blue and yellow and blue ponies, along with Tula Pink butterflies which I snagged and lots more I had to leave behind. I'm talking Cake Rock, Jackie Shapiro Pop Botanical and Tula Pink Nest. I was already on a high after the first stop!

The next shop had more bolts of yumminess than I have ever seen in one place. Entire collections of Heather Bailey Freshcut and Pop Garden, Amy Butler galore and lots of the hard to find Moda Uptown and Summer in the City collections, just to name a few.

I got a few prints I've been missing from my AB Belle and Love collections,

and even a fat quarter stack of some very rare old AB Ginger Bliss.

The third stop was way out of the way and turned out to be a funny old tin barn full of awesome finds. I sort of blew my fabric budget at the previous shop so I behaved myself, but wow! It was cool to see every single Midwest Modern and Lotus print side by side. There was even lots of Katie Jump Rope, Good Folks and Alexander Henry. This sweet woman had so much fabric in this place that her new Momo Freebird and Hope Valley was still in the plastic wrap!

I started my Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow collection and I'm hooked....must get more of that!

I have my wonderful husband to thank for it all. I am a lucky woman to have found such a patient guy to drive me on all these wild goose chases and just gets a kick out of seeing me happy.

We had an awesome weekend in Portland, one of my favorite cities. I won't bore you with too many of the details of the rest of the trip because I know most of you don't read this to hear about that stuff. But in case you get a chance to visit this great city, here is my short list:

-Pok Pok Thai for lunch (the wings and a Salted Plum Collins are a must)

-Oregon Wines on Broadway for a glass of good Pinot Noir

-So many places to go for dinner, but a few of my favorites are Olympic Provisions, Castagna, Pizza Ascholls and Le Pigeon

-and if you have time, a drive down to the beautiful Willamette Valley wine country, only 45 minutes south

I've been reflecting a bit today on the last year of my life, and I really do think 33 was my best year yet. I have the best husband ever, my sweet little girl is almost one year old and the absolute best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm surrounded by such loving friends and family. Yep, I'm a lucky girl. And looking forward to 34:)

First of all Happy Birthday! Second, so jealous/happy for you on so many ways . . . wish I was 34 again, living in the NW, staying at the Heathman, Portland, fabric buying in small WA towns, Oregon Pinot, weekend without kids, family nearby . . . you are one lucky duck! Most of all it is great to hear about a great guy who loves to see his wife smile and a wife who appreciates and loves her life. Have a great 34th year and thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Happy Birthday! Sounds like you sure had a great one! I live smack dab' in Oklahoma, but my favorite city in the whole country is Portland, so your birthday trip sounds like perfection to me. And I used the aqua colorway of the Mendocino for my last quilting bee blocks, so reading about your love of that fabric just made me all the more giddy to see what my quilt top looks like when I get the blocks all sashed together. :) And I'll be turning 33 myself in a month. (Not to mention that Norman is my son's first name, even though he doesn't go by it.) So much fun in one post! Love your blog, by the way.

so many beautiful and awesome finds!! i am so glad that you scored so big for you birthday weekend, i'm sure it added to that special feeling us girls get on our birthdays! So funny that you said 33 has been one of your best years...i was just thinking about my life and reflecting on different things on my way to Starbucks this am and had decided that 33 had been my best year in terms of self-confidence and accomplishment. It was the year I think I finally came into my own...a bit on the late side, I know, but I can remember feeling so alive and vibrant. 34 was a continuation of all things 33 for me, so I am sure you have another awesome year ahead of you too!!